Cyber Creative Institute Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo, Representative Director: Hirohiko Sato), which conducts comprehensive research on ICT technologies including mobile and wireless, has been evaluating and analyzing the status of 5G standardization activities such as 3GPP’s 5G standard essential patent (5G-SEP) declaration status, essentiality ratio of 5G-SEPs, and the holding number of 5G Implementing Essential patents, focusing on companies, technologies and services.

In this 6th edition of the 5G research report, following the previous editions, we conducted four types of research and analysis: Estimated 5G-SEPs (E_5G-SEPs)[i], 5G-SEP Declared Patents (5G-SEP_DPs)[ii], 5G Implementing Patents (5G_IPs)[iii], and 5G Standardization Contributions (5G_SCs)[iv].

In this survey, we find some changes in the 5G standardization activities.

Specifically, the standardization of 5G wireless infrastructure has stabilized, and 5G implementation technology has become a focus, and we can see that there is a movement toward 6G. The outline is as follows.

◆5G will shift to wireless function realizing technology
Regarding the standardization of 5G wireless infrastructure, the E_5G-SEPs that support standard specifications is 20,000, due to a review of the criteria for determining 5G-SEP_DPs.
The number of 5G EPs, including 5G-SEP and 5G realizing patents, has increased by 1.3 times since last year’s survey, to over 80,000. Looking at the ratio of SEPs to realizing patents, in this survey there were 3 realizing patents for every 1 SEP, an increase of 1.5 times from last year. Additionally, regarding 5G-SEP_DPs, which are subject to standard-essential consistency evaluation, the number of declared patents for the TS38 series (5G-RAN) has increased by approximately 9,000 compared to last year. In TS38, the number of standards with more than 1,000 declared patents has been increased by four, bringing the total to 19 standards.  In contrast, the TS23 series (architecture) and TS24 series (call control, etc.) remain unchanged from the 4 standards. The enhancement of standards has focused on wireless interface specifications.
These moves indicate that 5G_IPs are shifting focus to These moves indicate that 5G enabling patents are shifting focus to implementation.

◆New functions are expected to shift to 6G architecture
The move towards 6G can be seen in three studies.
The first one is 5G_IPs. Technologies that have seen a significant increase in applications in recent years include NTN[1], AI/ML[2], XR[3](metaverse), and MEC[4].
These are technologies that can cause significant changes in network traffic and require improvements to network configuration.
The second one is 5G_SCs. At Rel-18, contributions to AI/ML, Sidelink, NTN, etc. are actively being submitted.
Furthermore, Rel-19 proposes standardization goals that wireless networks should have to support society’s power savings, as well as sensing-related standardization goals centered on target industries/applications.
The third one is 5G-SEP_DPs. In response to the above-mentioned movements, we have confirmed that research standards (TR) targeting AI/ML and NTN have already been established.

In this 6th edition, as in the previous editions, in addition to selling a research report, we will also sell lists of patent groups that estimate various movements. We support efficient and specific confirmation of specific patent contents, such as companies and technology categories.
The targets are all four types: Estimated 5G-SEPs (E_5G-SEPs), 5G-SEP Declared Patents (5G-SEP_DPs), 5G Implementing Patents (5G_IPs), and 5G Standardization Contributions (5G_SCs).

[Points of the survey results]
(1) Estimated 5G-SEPs(E_5G-SEPs) that support the standard
Figure 1 shows the E_5G-SEPs ownership ratio.
Each company can declare its SEP at its own discretion. For this reason, the declared 5G-SEP is not necessarily the 5G-SEP required to realize the 5G standard, and objective standards consistency judgment is required. In this survey, while maintaining fairness among companies, we extracted over 10% of the registered patents of each company that declared the standards established by 3GPP as 5G standards.
We compared and evaluated the claims with the declared standards and identified patents that matched the standards as standard-compliant patents.
In this survey, there were 40 companies that had 10 or more patents determined, and the average standard compliance rate was 38%, an increase of 5% from the average of 33% in the first survey in October 2020.
Of the top 20 companies surveyed, 18 companies have increased their standard compliance rate, and the accuracy of standard essential patent declarations has improved overall.
The top three companies of standard compliance rate are Japanese companies. NTT DOCOMO, Kyocera, and Fujits.
In this survey as well, there was a change in the ranking of companies with an estimated number of 5G-SEPs of 15th or higher.
Huawei remains in 1st place, Samsung remains in 2nd place, and NTT DOCOMO takes 3rd place. Apple and Xiaomi also made it into the top 15.
As with last year, three Japanese companies were ranked: NTT DOCOMO, Sharp, and NEC.

(2) 5G Implementing Patents (5G_IPs) for 5G systems
Figure 2 shows Trends in the number of 5G_IPs held for 5G systems. The number of cases has increased rapidly since last year, exceeding 80,000 cases. This is approximately four times the estimated number of 5G-SEPs, which is approximately 20,000. This result means an increase in implementation patents that support systemization.
The top companies supporting 5G Implementing technology can be categorized into three types.
The first type is a company that has initiated a large number of patent applications. For the second consecutive year, Qualcomm has applied for approximately three times as many patents as its competitors, significantly expanding its patent share. It may be aiming to provide core components such as 5G devices.
The second type is companies whose patent application numbers are beginning to decline. There is a possibility that patent applications for technologies outside the 5G wireless domain are increasing.
The third type is companies whose number of applications continues to increase, and they are further classified into the following two types depending on the target technology.
Companies developing wireless technology are working on further improvements to 5G. Companies that are strengthening their network technologies may be focused on deploying 5G applications.

(3) Generational change in 5G Implementing technology
There are approximately 60 types of technologies that are important for realizing 5G systems.
These are divided into wireless technology, network technology, and system/service technology. In recent years, system and service technology has been on the rise in both the number of items and the number of applications.
Looking at the distribution of priority claims years for 5G_IPs (Figure 3), the technologies with a high proportion after entering the 5G-Advance generation (Rel-18: 2020 and later) are XR, NPN, NTN, AI/ML, MEC, etc. These are technologies for classifying systems and services. These technologies can have a significant impact on network traffic and may require architectural improvements such as network structure and traffic flow control.
On the other hand, technologies with a low ratio of 5G-Advance generation are technologies that attracted attention during the startup period of 5G, such as MIMO, FEC, OFDM, and non-orthogonal access control.

※The table of contents of the survey report is shown below.

[1] NTN: Non-Terrestrial Network

[2] AI/ML: Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning

[3] XR: X Reality／Extended Reality

[4] MEC: Multi-access Edge Computing

[i] The estimated 5G-SEPs（E_5G-SEPs） holdings is calculated by multiplying each company’s 5G-SEP Declared Patents(5G-SEP_DPs) by each company’s standards consistency rate to calculate the estimated number of patents held by each company. For information on how to extract patents subject to judgment in order to maintain fairness, please refer to section (1).

[ii] 5G-SEP Declared Patents (5G-SEP_DPs) are patents declared by each company at their own discretion as patents related to the specifications of the standard. Publicly available information such as which standard the declaration was made for, when it was declared, and the patent holder and declarant will be analyzed.
Survey target: ETSI SEP list
https://www.etsi.org/deliver/etsi_sr/000300_000399/000314/02.31.01_60/
Unit of analysis: INPADOC family base
Survey target list collection period: Published in November 2023

[iii] 5G Implementing Patents  (5G_IPs) cover as much as possible patents that contribute to the establishment of 5G standards (5G-SEP) and patents that are not SEP but are useful for realizing the standards (such as realization patents that perform realization processing in each device). This is a group of patents that were collected and extracted. Focusing on the technology classification that characterizes 5G, we extract and analyze only patents that can be judged to be technologies that meet the requirements of 5G.
In addition, in the 3rd edition of the research report, it was called “5G essential patent,” but this has been changed to avoid confusion with 5G standard essential patent (5G-SEP).
Research target: Patents determined to be useful for realizing 5G, extracted using the search system Derwent Innovation from patents in 19 technical areas unique to 5G.
Search target patents: Patent publications from all over the world
Unit of analysis: INPADOC family-based
Period covered by the survey: Publication date January 1, 2013 to September 30, 2023 (added 12 months from the 5th edition).

[iv] 5G Standardization Contributions (5G_SCs) is a contribution proposed to a 3GPP meeting for consideration of 5G standards. Public information such as which meetings people contributed to and which Release they contributed to will be analyzed.
Survey target: 3GPP website
https://www.3gpp.org/specifications-groups/specifications-groups
Analysis unit: Proposal unit
Survey target list collection period: After Rel-15
List aggregation: December 2023

Cyber Creative Institute Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo, Representative Director: Hirohiko Sato), which conducts comprehensive research on ICT technologies including mobile and wireless, has been evaluating and analyzing the status of 5G standardization activities such as 3GPP’s 5G standard essential patent (5G-SEP) declaration status, essentiality ratio of 5G-SEPs, and the holding number of 5G Implementing Essential patents, focusing on companies, technologies and services.
In this 5th edition of the 5G research report, following the previous editions, we conducted four types of research and analysis: 5G Implementing Essential patents, 5G-SEP declared patents, estimated number of 5G-SEP, and 5G standardization contributions.

In this survey, we find some changes in the 5G standardization activities. The outline is as follows.
The essentiality ratio of 5G-SEPs for each company has increased for the first time. In particular, most of the companies in the top ranking of the number of 5G-SEP declaration patents increased their essentiality ratio. Various assumptions can be made about the reason for the increase in the top companies, such as the stabilization of 5G-standards and so on.
Regarding 5G Implementing Essential patents, while certain companies have dramatically increased the number of patent applications, several companies have recently seen a decrease. It is presumed that technology development strategy of each company is reflected, such as companies focusing on implementation patents for 5G standards and companies focusing on service development.
In the survey of 5G-SEP declared patents, the number of standards with more than 1,000 declared patents increased from 7 to 19. Among the increased standards are service-related and call/session control-related standards, which deserve attention.
In the 5G standardization contribution, as a result of analysis using 3GPP Work Items, it is found that standardization proposals about proximity services (ProSe) unique to 5G, XR (cross reality) technologies attracting attention in the Metaverse, and advanced wireless communications using AIML (artificial intelligence / machine learning).

In this 5th edition, as in the previous editions, in addition to selling a research report, we will also sell lists of patent groups that estimate various movements. We support efficient and specific confirmation of specific patent contents, such as companies and technology categories.
In addition, we have started operation of a database for analyzing 5G standardization contributions. So, we can also support detailed analysis of 3GPP contributions.

[Points of survey results]
(1) Estimated number of 5G-SEP holdings
Each company can declare the SEP declaration at its own discretion. For this reason, the declared 5G-SEP is not necessarily the 5G-SEP that is essential for the realization of the 5G standards, so an objective standard conformity judgment is required. In this survey, from the registered patents of each company declared in the standard set by 3GPP as the 5G standard, we extracted 10% or more of the registered patents for each company while maintaining fairness for each company. Claims were compared and evaluated, and the matching patent was designated as a 5G essential patent.
As a result, 36 companies were judged 10 or more patents, and the average essentiality ratio was 36%, an increase from the previous average of 33%.
As an analysis example of the factors, Fig. 1 shows the increase/decrease points of the top companies whose essentiality ratio has increased. 16 out of the top 17 companies have increased. In particular, Huawei, LG Electronics, and CATT, which are in the top 10, have greatly increased their essentiality ratio.
As a result, the power map of the estimated number of 5G-SEP holders has changed. Figure 2 shows the estimated number of 5G-SEP holders.
Huawei ranked first, followed by Samsung and LG Electronics. Due to the increase in the essentiality ratio, four Chinese companies have entered the top 10.
Among Japanese companies, NTT DOCOMO is the only company in the top 10, which is 5th. Within 15th place, Sharp and NEC are included.

(2) 5G Implementing Essential Patent
Changes have also become apparent in the trend of applications for 5G implementing essential patents. Until the previous survey, most of the top companies increased the number of applications every year. But analyzing the number of patents in 2020, when most of the patents have been published, the current survey shows that the trend is divided into three poles. (Fig. 3).
Company A1 has significantly increased its number of patent applications for two consecutive years.
Company A2, A5, and A6 have seen a decrease in the number of patent applications.
Companies A3, A4, A7, A8, and A10 show the same increasing trend as before. Analyzing the technology categories to be applied for is becoming important in assessing corporate strategies.

(3) 5G-SEP declared patents
Until now, the analysis of declaration trends in 5G-SEP declared patent focused on the seven important standards of TS 38 (5G-RAN), which were declared many SEPs. But in this survey, we can confirm 19 standards (Fig. 4) which are declared more than 1,000 patents, and we decided to investigate these standards.
The standards in TS 23 (architecture) and TS 24 (multimedia, call control, session control) series are newly confirmed, and 8 standards in TS 38 (5G-RAN) are also newly confirmed.

(4) 5G standardization contributions
Figure 5 shows the number of contributions by WG for each Release.
Since Rel-15, 16, and 17 have already been reviewed by 3GPP, there is no significant difference in the number of contributions and the ratio of contributions by TSG for these three releases. Regarding Rel-18, which is currently under consideration, TSG-SA accounts for about half of the contributions, because TSG-SA considers issues before other TSGs consider.
Standardization of 5G ProSe (proximity service), which was standardized even in 4G, standardization of XR (cross reality) as a technology that is attracting attention in the metaverse, and standardization of wireless using AIML (artificial intelligence / machine learning) have begun in Rel-18. These proposals for standardization are targeting services and architecture for advanced communications.

※The table of contents of the survey report is shown below.

https://www.cybersoken.com/topics/mokuji/

[Services provided]
In this 5th edition of the survey, we will provide the following services.
(1) Report: Overall trend survey, trend survey by technology category, application trend survey of noteworthy companies, etc.
(2) List of patent numbers of 5G realized patents: List of patents under specified conditions such as by technology category and by applicant (optionally, outline of patent, presence or absence of ETSI declaration, etc.)
(3) Evaluation list of 5G-SEP declared patents
(4) For other individual requirements, please contact us.

About Cyber Creative Institute
(1) Company name: Cyber Creative Institute Co., Ltd. (https://www.cybersoken.com/)
(2) Representative Director: Hirohiko Sato
(3) Address of head office: Maeda Road Shirokane Building, 2F 5-22-12 Shirokanadai, Minato-ku, Tokyo
(4) Company foundation: April 2001
(5) Main businesses: The following businesses related to information and telecommunications
　1. Survey and research
　2. Patent service
　3. Engineering
　4. Education and training
(6) Paid-in capital: 30 million yen

For inquiries to this release, please contact:
Cyber Creative Institute Co., Ltd.
Patent Search and Analysis Department 5G Essential Declared Patent Search Team
Attn: Kenji Nakanishi
Tel : +81-3-5422-9853
Email: IPR_contacts@cybersoken.com

Cyber Creative Institute Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo, Representative Director: Hirohiko Sato), which conducts comprehensive research on ICT technologies including mobile and wireless, has been evaluating and analyzing the status of standardization activities, the holding number of SEPs, the holding number of 5G realized patents, focusing on declared 5G standard essential patents (5G-SEP) for 3GPP, companies, technologies, and services.
In this 4th edition of the research report, following the previous research, we conducted four types of research and analysis: 5G-SEP estimated number of holdings, 5G-SEP declaration patents, 5G implementation patents, and 5G standardization contributions.

The estimated number of 5G-SEP patents held by each company, which is based on the total number of 5G-SEP declared patents and the standard consistency rate of each company, was about 15,000 in this survey. It has increased about 2.3 times since the survey started in October 2020, but the growth from the previous survey (October 2021) has slowed down a little. The estimated number of 4G (LTE) -SEP holdings surveyed by our company in 2013 is about 2,000, and the estimated number of 5G-SEP holdings is about 7.5 times, which is noteworthy for the large number of SEPs that contribute to the standard.
Samsung is the top of the number of estimated 5G-SEP holdings, Qualcomm is the second, and LG is the third. Among the Japanese companies, NTT DOCOMO is in 4th place. By nationality of the top 10 companies, 2 Japanese companies (NTT DOCOMO, Sharp), 1 US company (Qualcomm), 2 European companies (Nokia, Ericsson), 3 Chinese companies (ZTE, Huawei, OPPO) and 2 South Korean companies (Samsung, LG) are competing. Among Japanese companies, Sony and NEC are also within the top 15 places.
5G implementation patents are a group of patents that collect and extract 5G-SEP and patents that include not SEP but are useful for implementing standards (implementation patents that perform realization processing in each device, etc.) as much as possible. It continues to show a large increase of about 1.7 times from the survey of one year ago, and the number of patent applications per year is about 13,000 in 2019, which is still a rapid increase (Fig. 3). It is thought that the reason why the growth is larger than other searches is that the publication of the patent application is delayed by about 1.5 years, and the information aggregation time is slightly delayed compared to other searches.

In this survey, there are some findings that I would like to pay attention to.
For example, the number of applications for 5G implementation patents for 5G-related services such as V2X (automobile), Ⅾ2D (IoT), and Unlicensed operation has increased significantly, and it shows an increasing tendency of the number of contributions for service architecture as Release 17 progresses.
In addition, in the comprehensive analysis, we are trying to classify companies into several types based on the estimated number of 5G-SEP holdings and the number of holdings of 5G implementation patents, which play a useful role in the realization of 5G.
Furthermore, in the analysis of contributions, we are analyzing changes in the number of proposals for each Release and each company, including Rel-17 and later (Other). This is an attempt to analyze the movement of companies that anticipate 6G (Beyond 5G).
Continuing from the previous edition, the 4th edition will also sell a list of patent groups that estimate various movements, in addition to selling search reports. We support the confirmation of targeted, efficient, and specific patent contents such as companies and technology categories.

[Points of survey results]
(1) Estimated number of 5G-SEP holdings
Each company can declare the SEP declaration at its own discretion. For this reason, the declared 5G-SEP is not necessarily the 5G-SEP that is essential for the realization of the 5G standard. In addition, there are two types of 5G-SEP selection: selection based on 5G judgment by ETSI including the LTE part, and selection based on the standard judged that 3GPP is a standard unique to 5G. Furthermore, the specifications of the 5G wireless system have been significantly expanded to realize new functions, such as ultra-low latency and connection to multiple terminals, compared to LTE.
In consideration of the above background, in this search, 2,376 patents declared by 3GPP as the 5G standard were extracted from the SEP declared patents of each company while maintaining fairness for each company, and the specifications and patents of the declared standard were extracted. The claims of the above were compared and evaluated, and the matching patents were designated as standard-consistent patents.
As a result, the 5G standard consistency rate of each company is shown in Fig. 1.
The company with the highest consistency rate is KT, which has 85%. The second place is Sony with 75%, and the third place is HCT with 73%.
The 34 companies in Fig. 1 are companies that have performed more than 10 consistency evaluations among the patents declared in the standards defined by 3GPP as 5G specifications.Approximately 10% of the patents registered in the SEP Declaration are randomly selected, the claims of the 5G standard and the patents are compared and evaluated, the patents that are the same are regarded as consistent patents, and the total number of patents for each company is calculated by the number of patents to be searched for each company. The divided value, consistent patents/total number, is the 5G standard consistency rate.
It is confirmed that the overall consistency rate is 33%, which was the same as the previous implementation (November 2021).
Figure 2 shows the estimated number of 5G-SEP holdings by multiplying the 5G standard consistency rate by the number of 5G-SEP declared patents to the standard set by 3GPP for each company. The result is as described above.

(2) 5G implementation patent

The number of 5G implementation patents has steadily increased every year, and the number of patent applications has exceeded 13,000 in the year 2019 (Fig. 3). Compared to the previous survey, the other three surveys showed a 1.3-fold increase, while the number of 5G implementation patents showed a 1.7-fold increase. It is thought that this is because of delaying patent publication by about 1.5 years, and there is a possibility that the balance of the four searches will be balanced in future searches.

From the next section, we will introduce some research topics.

(3) Rapid increase in 5G implementation patents related to V2X

Figure 4 shows the application transitions and ratios of applicants for 5G implementation patents for the service of interest (V2X).

In 2019, there will be 750 patent applications, which is about twice the number of the previous year, and the intensive applications of the top companies will be particularly noteworthy. The expansion of the market share of the 1st place companies, the increase of patent applications of the companies within the 10th place, and the large share of the companies of the 11th place and below under this situation are the formulation and implementation for the realization of V2X related standards. It seems to suggest the need for detailed analysis such as the superiority and inferiority of patents.

(4) The number of contributions that increase the number of service architecture proposals

Figure 5 shows the percentage of contributions by WG for each Release.

As Releases progress such as Rel-15, 16, 17, and Other (Rel-18 or later) , the number of contributions to RAN (wireless system) shows a declining trend, and in a way that compensates for this, SA (service architecture system) , The ratio of the number of proposals to CT (core network system) is high.

RAN focuses on proposals to achieve wireless-related performance goals, while SA proposes requirements such as new services and network system architectures that support them, and requirements for core network that extend wireless systems as the main focus.

In the report, the survey results of the proposer are shown for each WG and Rel, and the points of interest are introduced.

※The table of contents of the survey report is shown below.

https://www.cybersoken.com/topics/mokuji/

[Services provided]

In this 4th edition of the survey, we will provide the following services.

(1) Report: Overall trend survey, trend survey by technology category, application trend survey of noteworthy companies, etc.

(2) List of patent numbers of 5G realized patents: List of patents under specified conditions such as by technology category and by applicant (optionally, outline of patent, presence or absence of ETSI declaration, etc.)

(3) Evaluation list of 5G-SEP declared patents

(4) For other individual requirements, please contact us.

About Cyber Creative Institute

(1) Company name: Cyber Creative Institute Co., Ltd. (http://www.cybersoken.com)

(2) Representative Director: Hirohiko Sato

(3) Address of head office: 5F Gotanda First Building, 2-8-1 Nishi-Gotanda, Shinagawa, Tokyo

(4) Company foundation: April 2001

(5) Main businesses: The following businesses related to information and telecommunications

　1. Survey and research
　2. Patent service
　3. Engineering
　4. Education and training

(6) Paid-in capital: 30 million yen

For inquiries to this release, please contact:
Cyber Creative Institute Co., Ltd.
Patent Search and Analysis Department 5G Essential Declared Patent Search Team
Attn: Kenji Nakanishi
Tel : +81-3-3490-3186
Email: IPR_contacts@cybersoken.com